Truman O. Olson

Who was Truman O. Olson?

Truman O. Olson was a United States Army sergeant who was posthumously awarded the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II.

Olson was born on October 13, 1917, in Christiana, Wisconsin, and enlisted in the army from nearby Cambridge in June 1942.

He was sent to Europe in 1943 and by January 30 of the next year was serving in Italy as a sergeant in Company B of the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

On that day, near Cisterna di Littoria, he participated in the Battle of Cisterna. After a day of fighting which resulted in heavy casualties, what remained of his company dug in for the night, with Olson and his gun crew manning a light machine gun in defense of their position. During the night, his entire gun crew was killed or wounded and Olson himself was wounded in the arm. Despite this, he remained at his post and manned the gun alone for the rest of the night. At daybreak on January 31, the German forces launched an intense assault on the company's position and Olson was severely wounded. Knowing that his machine gun was Company B's only effective defense, he refused evacuation and continued to fire on the attacking soldiers for an hour and a half until succumbing to his wounds. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor a year later, on January 24, 1945.